Halloween and Real Estate!
Well Halloween is just around the corner and it brings in the holiday sensation of Thanksgiving.
Here is a brief description of the origins: And be sure to read on afterwards!
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced sow-in).
The Celts, who lived 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom, and northern France, celebrated their new year on November 1. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. On the night of October 31, they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities.
During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
By A.D. 43, Romans had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of Roman origin were combined with the traditional Celtic celebration of Samhain.
The first was Feralia, a day in late October when the Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints’ Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Day) and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween. Even later, in A.D. 1000, the church would make November 2 All Souls’ Day, a day to honor the dead. It was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels, and devils. Together, the three celebrations, the eve of All Saints’, All Saints’, and All Souls’, were called Hallowmas.
Now, what does this have to do with real estate? Well, in today’s tradition of dressing up, people don costumes and begin celebrating the holidays. In today’s world, with modern technology in farming, the whole year is a harvest. Yet a lot of us eat manufactured and junk food, and this time of year with the addition of candy and sweets, find ourselves sick or worn down. Much like eating the proper foods and staying healthy, we find people not taking care of themselves with their real estate.
I was at the courthouse steps last week for a foreclosure and noticed some bidders bidding up the price. Turns out they were representing a hedge fund investor and these bidders got a commission on buying a property. I laughed because this bidder bid way beyond what the market will bear for this specific property.
Seems like many investors are bidding blindly because they think we have hit bottom and the market will rebound quickly. This is a reverse greed scenario we went through 5 years ago when buyers were making multiple offers on properties. Remember, you still need to study the market and keep a buffer for your profits.
Do NOT assume anything! Remember ASS - U - ME. When you assume, you make an ASS out of U and ME!
The safe way to go is to go to the family’s house with the bright lights and well lit porch who is handing out home baked cookies and have lived there for 20 years. You will never get a trick at that house because they have gone thru all the storms.
So Happy Halloween everyone, count your blessings, disregard your failures and make some sound decisions in real estate by calling me at 949-533-2581 or Mike@MichaelDunn.com
Happy Hunting.
Mike
Posted: October 11th, 2009 under Real Estate News.
Comments: none
